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Join Date

Feb 2007

Location

Central,Texas

Posts

173

cleaning my cymbals

I have a set of A- Zildjian cymbals and have been catching heck cleaning them. I use their polish but the problem I'm having is once I wipe the polish off and begin to shine them I catch heck getting the residue out of the grooves the hammer marks. Anybody have a suggestion that is easier then wiping until I hit muscle failure?

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Nov 2007

Location

Northwest, New Mexico

Posts

6,378

Re: cleaning my cymbals

Use some sabian or zildjian cymbal cleaner in a spray bottle after you have applied and wiped off the cream cymbal polish. It will clean the black residue left from the cream polish out of the grooves, and should give you the shine that you are looking for.

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Feb 2007

Location

Central,Texas

Posts

173

Re: cleaning my cymbals

Thanks. I went to their website and asked the same question. They said over time grime and residue build up in the grooves and hammer marks. They suggest washing them with water and a mild detergent and to dry them completely afterwards. I like your method better.

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Nov 2007

Location

Northwest, New Mexico

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6,378

Re: cleaning my cymbals

Groove juice is really not allot different than "Kaboom" the stuff that Billy Maye's hawks on TV. I've been told it can be a little harsh so be careful! They are acidic and can etch or discolor your cymbals if not used with care. That is why I feel more comfortable using a cymbal manufacturers product because they wouldn't want a bunch of warranty claims for using too strong a product on their cymbals.

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Join Date

Jul 2007

Posts

5

Re: cleaning my cymbals

ey i actually wouldnt try sabian cleaner... just 2 warn you, when i bought some i applied it 2 my cymbals.. and did everything it said 2 do, it ended up changing the color of the cymbals, fading the emblim, and it changed a nice cymbal color 2 a booger green. we called the sabian company and they replaced the cymbals.. but i still will never purchase any sabian cleaner again

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Nov 2007

Location

Northwest, New Mexico

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6,378

Re: cleaning my cymbals

What line of cymbals where they? If they were the sheet bronze series B8's I have heard that happens. Sabians cleaner is much more mild than the Groove juices and Kick Brass cleaners but they are all acidic in nature and will react differently to different castings

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Join Date

Feb 2007

Location

Central,Texas

Posts

173

Re: cleaning my cymbals

Zildjian wrote back telling me that after time the protective coat will wear off. They also told me not to try to re-apply the logo's since spray paint will effect the sound of the cymbals. The biggest problem was water stains. I re-applied their polish to the stains and let it set a afew minutes. Once I wipe it off I sprayed the Sabian cleaner to remove the residue. It worked like a charm. Ther drum-tech at my local GC said to never use other metal polishes but I have used several brands before and they all worked. The final step was once I got all of the residue off I used my electronic car polisher to bring out the shine. Now all I have to do is get my son and his friends from leaving fingerprints on them!!!

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Join Date

Nov 2007

Location

Northwest, New Mexico

Posts

6,378

Re: cleaning my cymbals

In all seriousness you would need to start with course abrasives and work your way to fine abrasives and then use some sort of polishing wheel with some jewelers rouge to get an earth ride to look shiny. To do it at home would take for ever. I have some experience with this with car parts and it is an exhaustive process to do by hand....